Padme's a special case because Anakin would have told her about the Sith, and she died so who knows if she ever even told anybody. I'm sure Bail Organa and probably the rest of the leaders of the Rebellion knew too, maybe even everyone in the rebellion, but that still wouldn't make it common knowledge across the galaxy, especially when the Empire controls the information that the public receives as any good empire does.

One of those Admiral guys in ANH: "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient Jedi religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you enough clairvoyance to find the rebels' hidden fortress..."

Their contemporary viewpoint of Vader is that he is a Jedi. They think of him kind of pathetically, actually. There's no mention of the Sith. And why, deception. Why let the Sith take any blame, when you can just as easily let people's ignorance allow them to blame your most hated enemy - the Jedi.

Han is kind of the same way. Sees the Jedi as just an ancient lame religion. I mean, it's not till even after RotJ and Luke has SAVED him that he begins to see the value.

One of those Admiral guys in ANH: "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient Jedi religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you enough clairvoyance to find the rebels' hidden fortress..."

Their contemporary viewpoint of Vader is that he is a Jedi. They think of him kind of pathetically, actually. There's no mention of the Sith. And why, deception. Why let the Sith take any blame, when you can just as easily let people's ignorance allow them to blame your most hated enemy - the Jedi.

Han is kind of the same way. Sees the Jedi as just an ancient lame religion. I mean, it's not till even after RotJ and Luke has SAVED him that he begins to see the value.

Actually you inserted the word Jedi in between ancient and religion. I don't know if that was in the script or the book, but it wasn't in the movie. I don't know what most people thought Vader was, but I doubt the public at large knew he was a Sith, and nether did the Imperial officers because they probably wouldn't have provoked him if they did. On the other hand,why would the public assume Vader was a Jedi when the Jedi had been declared enemies of the Empire?

I remember being a kid and seeing all these references in comics and ads and sci-fi magazines about "Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith." And then you never hear anything about The Sith anywhere. My friends and I had all kinds of outlandish 10-year old kid ideas about wtf "Sith" were.

I just recall seeing that phrase in Starlog or in a comic or something in the 80s. My friend Tom kept hoping we'd find out what "Sith" were. And this was before ESB, I'm pretty sure, because we didn't know Vader was Luke's pop yet and I thought a Sith was a kind of "alien" creature/race.

It makes you think that there's more to Old Ben's lie to Luke. Perhaps Ben was just using the existing propaganda about Vader to save Luke the pain.

Great point on which i'll attempt to expound. Had Kenobi told Luke right from the start that Vader was actually his father, what would have happened? Luke would have been conflicted about the need to DEFEAT Vader. So to make sure that Luke maintains the "right path" in his hatred toward the Empire and Vader Obi-Wan allows himself to be cut down, knowing Luke is watching, knowing that becoming a martyr will make him "become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Restoring democracy to a galaxy whereall forms of said democracy were erased, after a period of many years where that old democratic body was wholly corrupted, would be a monumental task. There's never a switch "back on".

It worked in Iraq, no wait. No it didn't work at all.

Seriously though if you take a country like Iraq, which is a complicated tribally diverse nation. Then extrapolate that to an entire galaxy, with different races and species with extremely different backgrounds. It would be a ridiculously massive undertaking to try and restore democratic order, especially with every system clamouring for power after the fall of the empire.

Look at Russia, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of the oligarchs, grabbing financial power and the Russian mafia going after the rest!

do you think everyone was like "who the heck did we get into bed with?" when ole Palpy boy declared the republic an empire? i mean how many of those senators were corrupted and if so was one of Leia's official acts when creating the new republic was to get rid of them?

Darth must've been feeling pretty pissy by the end of ANH. First Tarkin makes fun of his religion and keeps him on a short leash. Then the Admirals tell him he's not even good at that old fancy-pants religion. Then, on that very same day, Old Obi-wan leads him on a force goose chase around the Deathstar where he taunts him and then disappears half way thru the fight in a puff of Force smoke magic. Clearly Palpy was holding out on some important Force Powers. Then the next day, some scrappy kid blows up said Deathstar and he's left wandering, "WTF?!?" (stands for: what the force).

Darth must've been feeling pretty pissy by the end of ANH. First Tarkin makes fun of his religion and keeps him on a short leash. Then the Admirals tell him he's not even good at that old fancy-pants religion. Then, on that very same day, Old Obi-wan leads him on a force goose chase around the Deathstar where he taunts him and then disappears half way thru the fight in a puff of Force smoke magic. Clearly Palpy was holding out on some important Force Powers. Then the next day, some scrappy kid blows up said Deathstar and he's left wandering, "WTF?!?" (stands for: what the force).

So true. But... this sounds like the typical critique of a TCW episode.

Darth must've been feeling pretty pissy by the end of ANH. First Tarkin makes fun of his religion and keeps him on a short leash. Then the Admirals tell him he's not even good at that old fancy-pants religion. Then, on that very same day, Old Obi-wan leads him on a force goose chase around the Deathstar where he taunts him and then disappears half way thru the fight in a puff of Force smoke magic. Clearly Palpy was holding out on some important Force Powers. Then the next day, some scrappy kid blows up said Deathstar and he's left wandering, "WTF?!?" (stands for: what the force).

this is what i think of when i think of Palpy finding about the death star blowing up.

do you think everyone was like "who the heck did we get into bed with?" when ole Palpy boy declared the republic an empire? i mean how many of those senators were corrupted and if so was one of Leia's official acts when creating the new republic was to get rid of them?